...But I Said Mo' Mo' Mo'!!!

Nick James comes at us from Oakland with a classy smoothed out remix of AG. This one has taken pride of place in my top 3 so far (alongside Filthy Gangster & Crooklyn Gangster). He also has the honour of having my fav sample so far on any AG remix joint. The Jazzy keyboard & strings used on the American Gangster track is beautiful stuff.

American Producer (Remixed by Nick James)

J. Brookinz turn to drop a lil sumthn fpr the good people. He's decided to use a whole load of 80's music samples for this one. No Hook, Ignorant shit & the Chopped up Guitar riffs of Success are standouts on this one. But the electro pop and keyboard sample used for American Gangster is easily one of the catchiest beats of all the AG remix so far. 1 or 2 of the samples used need a few listens to appreciate but it is an intewresting listen non the less.

American Gangster 80's Style

AAAAAAHHHHHH MAAANNNN!! No sooner do i make a bold statement do i then have to change my bloody mind. DR. Goo... strange name & possibly the most eccentric source yet chosen to extract samples from. He's taken the soundtrack to the Chicago movie and found some absolute gems. Now, i'm  not just talking about simple blends here. I'm talking about some ingeniusly chopped and looped vocal & orchestral samples. The Goo's version of party Life is catchiness personified and anyone who doesn't snap their neck to that one needs their head examined. This one narrowly beats Nick James effort on my top 3 (sorry Nick). The sheer quirkiness of the beats makes this a definate banger.

American Gangster In Chicago

Get em all and check out the sites too.

Nick James Myspace

J. Brookinz Myspace

Dr. Goo's Myspace

WTF: Swiss Cheese For Brains

Do people have no shame? or Should i realy be asking, do goverments have no shame? after this brainstorm of a video by the Swiss government (which not every member supported) i think it's safe to say that the answer is no. These fools have funded an advertising campaign being shown in Africa. Nothing wrong with that, apart from the fact that it has actually been designed to deter african immigrants from trying to enter Switzerland. The advert starts with a Black immigrant telling his father during a phone call that all is well and he is making money. But he is actually living on the street, being chased by police (seemingly for no reason) and has to beg to survive day to day. The final message of the ad reads ''Don't believe everything you hear, leaving is not always living''. This ad has already been shown in Cameroon & Nigeria and should be aired in other parts of Africa soon. 

The first and most glaring gripe with this ad is the obvious racist undertones. Well i say undertones but you could hardly be anymore blatant if you tried. A video designed just for african immigrants and not for migrants in general is just plain disgusting. Then there is the fact that they have actually gotten away with it shows that all the other european governments are all just as happy to have this video made, because apart from one member of the swiss government (who was a legal migrant himself) nobody else has batted an eyelid over it. Also, how the hell did they manage to find someone to play the immigrant in the first place. Either he got paid a comparatively ridiculous amount of money to do it or he simply has no shame at all.

Regardless of who played the main character there is a much bigger and far more disturbing picture of just how far the leaders of the supposedly free world are prepared to go to impose their way of life on the rest of us. Regardless of what people are being told, this video is aimed at both legal & illiegal imigrants amd makes no attempt to differentiate between the two at any time on the ad. Which means that there is strong possibility that the Swiss government quite simply don't want any more black/non white people settling in Switzerland, that is unless your Lewis Hamilton (ie you have money), then one of the richest & most tax friendly countries in the world is only too willing to have you.

I wait with (sarcastically) baited breath to see whether these goings on set a precedent and other countries try to follow suit.

p e a c e

Swiss Immigration Advert

Damn Man... More???

This Ones made my top 5 so far. Detroit producer Alpha-Bet has come up trumps with this one. Great use of samples as well.

Alpha Gangster

Be prepared to open your mind for thids one people. Hailing from DC, D has decided to go with samples from dance legends Daft Punk. Incase if you didn't know Kanye sampled these guys for Stronger (Better, Harder, Faster, Stronger). I think it works really well.. The standout on here has got to be I Know where D has used my favourite Daft Punk track (Voyager) and it suits Jay perfectly. Ye would be proud. 

Daft Gangster

Superior by name, superior by nature. Berlin has offially entered the race with this one. KD Supier drops a superb offering. Some of the samples have been heard before but don't let that get in the way of the fact that this needs to be heard. In my top 3.

Superior Gangster

Wowzers. The goodness doesn't stop. Jimi Kendrix has already done work for Jay-Z (cool), Mic Geronimo (cool) & The Murder INC family (not so cool). Then together with his partner in beats J. Math, Street Radio have worked with 2Pac, Styles P & Papoose. Well these boys have decided to throw there hat into the urban mix with Street Radio's American Gangster. They have raised the bar with this one by adding new vocals with artists not featuredon the original (Grab it & find out for yourself) and the results are 1st class.

Street Radio's American Gangster

Grab em all & be sure to check out their sites too.

Alpha-Bet's Myspace

Dthenextlevel's Blog

KD Supier's Myspace

Street radio's Myspace

What If???

Gift Rapped

That's right folks. It's that time again. Mad Skillz (i just can't stop calling him that) is back with another Rap Up for that ass. And yep, he kills em again. my personal laughout loud moment (i picked from a few) was his impression of T-Pain only for him to say after it ''What's crazy is that wasn't T-Pain that was me''. Brilliant. Since i'm a nice guy i decided to post all 6 rap Ups for the good people. Grab it for a laugh.

The Rap Ups: 2002 - 2007

2007 The Rap up

The N Word

Apparently people, this is the new album cover. It's easily gotta be the boldest statement ever made on a major album release on any genre (and i say album release for 2 reasons, Fuck The Police & Cop Killer). We can talk all day about the sexual content in songs & on videos these days (which being a red blooded male, isn;t all bad) but Hip Hop was always meant for bigger things. This cover hasn't been confirmed yet by any means but if he does go with this i think it does make an interesting statement. Think about it. A... actually not just A word, Thee word that is bound by history to the pain & suffering of black people across the globe is emblazened on a black & white picture of a black man sitting underneath a white light sitting in a pose that is so often asscociated with the White middle/upper class societies of the world. It also smacks of someone sticking 2 fingers up at the system to me. I mean look at the size of the album title. It's about as big as he could get it without obscuring is face. 

I say do what you think needs to be done, Nas. It shows the growth of a man when he can do what he's done on the mic, both good and bad. and come out a better man on the other side. Love him or hate him he always got a statement to make on his albums (Destroy & Rebuild, These Are Our Heroes, Black Rebuplican etc). And don't forget, although his beat choices have, at times, been questionable, lyrically he's on his A game. Lets wait and see what he has to say on the album before we decide whether The Whole Nigger thing it was just a publicity stunt or not. I for one don't think it is. But i could be wrong.

p e a c e

Farming Is Cool!!!

Aided by a Wordly collection of Emceeing (if that's actually a word) talent, The Hitfarmers come out of Munich, Germany with a really good christmas mixtape for us, The good people to download for free. I'm probably the biggest fan of hip hop related freeness around so you know i've already got hold of it. Do the same fam & you won't be disapointed. My personal favs are X-mas in Pensylvania ft. King Magnetic (yes from Army Of The Pharoahs) & X-mas in Sweetwater Pondz ft. Ciph Barker. They also got Snowgoons, Mr. Malchau & Nomad (amongst others) on there. Grab it 1st then go then go to Ap-Rock's myspace & Grab the other goodies for yourselves people.

X-Mas In My Hood ft. The Joining Forces Allstars

The Joining Forces mixtape Vol. III

Ap-Rock's Myspace

Preach Brother... Preach Some More!!!

I couldn't wait to the new year to post this. After letting the good people know about just how good this guy is, the man himself dropped me an email & gave me a link to share with everybody. It's for a clean version of his album, Garveyism. I said before that it was a real good listen so i don't want nobody accusing me of brown nosing. Oh and be sure to check out his comic strip too. I'm hoping to have an interview for the good people sometime soon too. In the meantime click the links, Grab whats available & be sure to thank the man on his myspace.

Preach - Garveyism (Clean Version)

Preach's Site

And his Myspace Too

What If???

.... see you in the new year!!!

Straight From Brooklyn, Better Known As Crooklyn...

Sorry Kideight (Filthysox). I know your AG remix is amazing & i know you're representing for my side of the pond (UK) but Crooklyn Gangster is THEE best AG remix album i've heard so far, bar none. Small Professor (see what he did there) has crafted something that goes way beyond what any other remix album and the original itself could achieve. Anyone who knows their movies knows the feeling that the dark string arrangements did for Bullitt. Well, SP has created this same dark mysterious 70's feel on his masterpiece. From start to finish the samples have been used to perfection and every beat fits not just Jay's vocal but the topics of the songs as well. The production is far superior to the original & since there was never anything wrong with the original lyrically, i would go so far as to say that Jay could've had a classic on his hands. I don't care how many of the samples used have been heard before or who used em because the fact is this guy has created something special. This needs a retail release asap. In my opinion this is one of the best produced albums of the year retail or not. I would have to question whether half of these samples would get cleared though. I'll say it again, A Masterpiece. GRAB THIS NOW!!!

Crooklyn Gangster

Small Professor's Myspace

...And Another 3...

3 new one's at once for y'all. And all of them need to be Grabbed man. Real Real nice every one of them. The Jay-Z & Marvin Gaye album by Shuko (if you don't know find out) is superb. DJ B, however cxomes from nowhere to steal the show in my opinion with his American Gangster Remixes. But hey they're all needed so Grab x 3.

Jay-Z & Marvin Gaye - What's Going On American Gangster?

Jay-Z & DJ B - American Gangster Remixes

Veterano - American Me EP

Alliance Is Golden (9th & The A.L.L.I.E.S.)

Heads would have heard these cats on 9th's Dream Merchant 2 (Reminisce). Probably my favourite track on there. Part of the reason for that however, is the obvious chemistry beween 9th's beats and the skills shown by the MCs riding it. I base this evidence not just on that track but also on the EP i'm posting for the good people to Grab. 9th Wonder Presents: The A.L.L.I.E.S. EP is 7 tracks (including the intro) of arguably 9th's best work (after The Listening) being used by Big Remo & Novej (pronounced No-vay) to drop various jewels about hip hop, life and family. Change Ya Ways (Be Careful) is officially my all time favourite 9th beat (so far). Immaculate use is made of the sample for the bro's to show people the right way to go. Gotta Get To Work is also a track that immediately jumps out at you. To be honest though, the whole damn EP is fire. Miss it & miss out. GRAB THAT!!!

The A.L.L.I.E.S. EP

Is He Or Isn't He???

After the brilliance that was Black Is Back, is 9th about to follow it up with another banger? I've found 2 pieces of evidence that suggest that he is. 2 AG tracks remixed by the man himself.

He calls it Successful but we all know what the originals called. Then there's his take on Blue Magic as well. Grab Grab Grab!!!

Successful & Blue Magic (9th Wonder Remixes)

...And The Best One?...

Filthysox (KidEight & Wizard) have put together arguably the best American Gangster remix album of the lot. And the best bit....their from the UK!!! (represent). Is it possible that we over here have beaten them over there, at there own game. Answers in the cbox peepz. Anyway, it's superb from start to finish, the use of samples is off the hook, and i listened to every beat from start to finish. Some may say i'm exaggerating cause i'm also from the UK. Grab it & listen first, compare it to the others, then be sure to check for my boy's myspace for more of the same. I'm tellin' ya it's the best so far.

Jay-Z & Filthysox - Filthy Gangsters

KidEight's Myspace

Wizard's Myspace

Filthysox Myspace

...And Another Samurai...

American Samurai: Return Of The Gangster, by DJ Kay-Ris, goes a little leftfield with some of the samples used but this in no way detracts from the fact that it's good. American Dreamig is a little funky and slightly uptempo number which people with blinkered minds (and i hope that doesn't apply to any of you) may be thrown by (Personally i love it). The the strings sample Kay employed for his version of fallin' is used to briliant effect and i'm sure Questlove would be damn proud of Kay's version of Ignorant Shit (My favourite AG remix beat so far). Other standouts are Pray & Success Grabalicious!!!

American Samurai: Return Of The Gangster Part 1

American Samurai: Return Of The Gangster Part 2

...And Another Sin...

Sin you only remixed 6 tracks (nofrillz kisses his teeth in disgust). You should've remixed the whole thing man cause you got beats. In my view this is only edged into 2nd place (so far) by Von Pea for 2 reasons. Von Remixed the whole thing so there 's more to enjoy and on Sin Azucar's version of Hello Brooklyn he tries to hard to make the vocals fit the beat so Jay sounds like he's just breathed in a 4 minute supply of helium. But nomatter, the good people need to grab this anyway.

American Dreamin'

...& Another Von...

Now i know y'all must know who Von pea is.  A seriously underrated producer & member of Tanya Morgan (come on now). Well he's decided to throw his version out there for the masses and damn he's on his a game. Most of the other versions i've featured have some superb beats on 'em but this is easily the most consistant version i've put up. No recycled beats either (as far ai i can tell anyway). If you don't this one you need to be gracefully put down. Be sure to grab the Tanya Morgan stuff too. Moonlighting is the officially released long player but you can also grab their Sunlighting EP & Sunlight To Sunset. i have also dropped a link for my fave Tanya Morgan joint. To be honest it's probably every TM peepz favourite. Stay Tuned (Sunset Mix) is nearly 9 minutes long, but is practically 2 tunes in one and the way one tunes moulds in to the other (via an ill sample)is genius. Grab em both.

American Angster (The Von Pea Remixes)

Tanya Morgan - Stay Tumed (Sunset Mix)

...An Anudda Won...

Endevor One...or as us Uk boyz would type, Endevour One (spot the small difference in spelling there). Incase you really can't tell i'm running out of things to say. I'm only gonna put up the mixes that i think are nice & this is. There are only so many times a man can say somethings nice. But this is nice so Grab that peepz.

1/4 Rican Gangster

...& Another 1...

Bloody hell....that's a really.... red cover. I'm a sucker for nice souful samples &there is plenty here for me to be gettin' on with.

The Soul Kitchen Re-Mixtape

...And Another One...

Beirut does his thing. Now i'm split between this & DJ Dash's cover art. This one has a strangely iconic feel about though. Hell yeah grab that.

Beirut Gangster

...And Another One...

Midimarc has done this kinda thing before & he's damn good at it too. I really like this one. Grab hold peepz.

Jay Z & Midimarc - American Beatmaker: The American Gangster Remixes

...One... And Another One...

The Infamous DJ Dash Remix Project. This one gets my vote for best cover art so far. Oh.. and the beats are nice to incase you were wondering.

The Infamous DJ Dash Remix Project

Another One... And Another...

This one's proudly presented by the Remix Kid...

The Remix Kid Presents - American Gangster

...And Another One....And....

Rob Viktum's turn to drop his take on proceedings. be sure to pick up his other freebie called Progress from Rappers I Know.

American DONUTS Shop

...And Another One...

Another slice of Jay-Z related freeness for the good people, Courtesy of Vendetta. The samples used on here swing subtly between dark & spacey. Worth checking out though. Be sure to check out V's myspace too.

American Vendetta

Vendetta's Myspace

And Another One...

What did i tell you peepz. Another American Gangster remix joint. This one was done by the Knocks (Mr. JPatt & B-Roc) and is another sample laiden treat to rewind (as if anyone still does that) to your hearts content. A real nice use of samples & funky beats that make a good combo. Be sure to grab it (did i mention that it's free) and check out their myspace's for more of the same. 

American GFunk

Mr. JPatt's Myspace

B-Roc's Myspace

Waxing Lyrical

Wax Reform are one of the most consistant indie's around. Their back catalogue is a must have for any real hip hop fan as far as i'm concerned. Raks One is my personal favourite on their roster. The 2 goodies i have for the good people are his 1st full length album, called For Good, featuring production from Illmind, Muneshine, Dminor & M-Phazes. the 2nd has Raks (Emilio Rojas) teamed up with Muneshine to form the duo Phocus. The album is called A Vision & A Plan. Again featuring beats By M-Phazes, Illmind & Muneshine himself. Both albums also have bonus remixes of some of the album tracks. i love this stuff peepz and if your into anyone like Supastition, Strange Fruit Project or anything by Illmind, you need these in your collection. Then go out and get his other releases, Raks Verses The Industry & His second full length installment, A Breath Of Fresh Air. Superb. Grab.

Raks One - For Good

Phocus - A Vision & A Plan

Absolutely Thugnificent!!!

We all love the freeness but when its this good.... damn!!! 2 versions, on 2 discs & both ill. ft. A Tribe Called Quest, Skyzoo, AZ, Little Brother, Raks One, Quasimoto, Dres, Rashid Haddee, Cormega, Cunninlynguists, Ghostface Killah, J Dilla, Tanya Morgan, Pugz Atoms, NY Oil, Blu, Talib Kweli etc... etc... etc.... Grab these Now!!!

Thugnificent Edition

Hall Of Justus Edition

And So It Begins...

I think that it's safe to say that the Great American Gangster Remix convention is now beginning to build up a substantial head of steam. No sooner do i find one than another pops out of the woodwork. This one comes Courtesy of DJ Soulclap over at Wake Your Daughter Up. Titled American Clapster, Soulclap stays true to his moniker and dug up some nice sampled beats that Jay would be proud of. We all know that lyrically there was nothing wrong with the album, but the beats, for the most part, were another matter entirely. It's blatently obvious that people are gonna remix American gangster simply because the original beats weren't good enough. As oppose to The Black Album, which was done purely from a nostalgic point of view (which disappeared as soon as Jay came out of 'retirement'). You can grab this for free from the aforementioned blog right now or just grab it below.

DJ Soulclap - American Clapster

Wake Your Daughter Up

Will We Ever Stop The Violence?

Sudan is one of the most dangerous places on earth. With a misguided guerilla rebellion on one side and a government that is willing to use all the firepower it can muster to stop them on the other, all those stuck in the middle are the ones that suffer the most. Women are raped and assaulted with alarming regularity and anyone who opposes either side is liable to lose either a limb/s or there life. Millions of people are living in absolute poverty with little to eat or drink & diseases are common place & spread like wildfire.

In 2005 a peace deal was brokered between Sudan's government & the SPLA (Sudan Peoples Liberation Army). Emmanuel Jal, an MC from southern (Christian) Sudan who used to be a child soldier for the SPLA, teamed up with northern (Moslem) Sudanese singer & composer Abdel Gadir Salim for a project backed by the Make Poverty History campaign (all y'all should've had that white band around your wrist to show support at some stage).

Ceasfire is a whirlwind of african rhythms & arrangements, and a bare knuckle hip hop sound that is very rarely heard these days. Regardless of the language barrier it is not hard to recognise a nice flow when you here it and Emmanuel has got just that.I'm not gonna get all wordy and use a load of nonsensical adjectives to decribe this album. I'm simply gonna say that it's message is all about peace and that it is ,in my view, a masterpiece. It took me 3 spins to truly understand just how good this is. In my eyes this is a must have, but only if you let yourself expect something different (a bit like Outkast when Aquemini came out). This is beautiful hip hop. Grab it now.

Emmanuel Jal & Abdel Gadir Salim - Ceasefire

AAAAAAAAAAHH.... That's Better

In the blog intro at the top of this page, we said that we embrace all forms of the culture (a given as far as i'm concerned). OK so technically this is still within' the realms of music but it is still a much under appreciated art. Especially in the current climate where fads in the music are a dime a dozen and not enough is being done to showcase how hip hop got to where it is in the 1st place.


Yes peeps, i'm referring to those Magnificent Magicians of Mouth Mechanics, the Beatboxers. From Ready Roc C, doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie & Michael Winslow (from the Police Academy films; Don't Front), to Killa Kela, Rahzel & Scratch, you know you can't deny how much you enjoy it while at the same wondering 'How the F$%k did he do that?' at the same time.


I have therefore decided to provide a few morsels for the good people to delect on. Just my way of showing some appreciation to a largely forgotten branch of the hip hop tree. None of you would disagree that we all just as amazed as each other when we first heard Rahzel drop his now legendaryAaliyah set. 'If Your Mother Only Knew'....

Some of these you'll know & some you won't. But that is beside the point beacause they are all bloody superb. Grab and appreciate....

Scratch - The Embodiment Of Instrumentation

Rahzel - If Your Mother Only Knew

Killa Kela - The Permanent Marker

The Skinny Boys - Live Show Clips

Preach Brother Preach!!!

Last year Preach released an album (and a very good one at that) called Garveyism. Over beats provided by Clockwork(Outerspace, Raydar Ellis), Jah Freedom (K. Hill) & Nicolay (Foreign Exchange, Little Brother, Median etc) he tells us the virtues of staying positive in adversity, stayimg true to one self and other related topics. Preach & Nicolay's vibe during the course of working together was so 'righteous' that they decided to make an entire album together. Unfortunately, over a year later, i'm still waiting for an official release. I did however, get hold of what is supposed to be an advance copy of an as yet untitled long player. 10 tracks all produced by the almost infallible Nicolay (sorry Nic but by your usually high standards, Here, was for the most part mediocre). I think the results are bloody superb. I shouldn't have to tell any of you about Nicolay.... should I? Check this one out & get hold of Preach's album. Although the name suggests otherwise he doesn't come across as preachy at all. Grab that.

Preach & Nicolay Advance

Famous.... Really?

Although it's title aludes to something that hasn't happened quite yet, Big Sean's Finally Famous mixtape is a solid piece of work. Having been signed by Kanye to his 'Getting Out Our Dreams' imprint, Sean's 1st offering for the masses showcases a nasel flow over GOOD's brand of soulful yet colourful beats. Once or twice i found myself getting a tad irritated by Sean's sometimes squeeky flow. But fortunately the good far outweighs the bad. A nice intro to Big Sean's world. Grab it or take a listen at Datpiff 1st.

Big Sean - Finally Famous Mixtape

www.datpiff.com

Have You Learnt Your Lesson?

The Good Samaritan Music Project brings today's relevant issues to young minds using Edutainment (if you don't know by now you never will). This Particular venture brought hip hops original teacher, KRS-One, with some of the UK's closest substitutes, Paradise, Skinnyman & MCD. Although sometimes his beat choices have been questionable, anything involving KRS One lyrically is a must have. Plus, as far as i'm concerned anything involving Skinnyman & MCD is a must have also. The results, helped by Charlie Parker on the boards, is definately worth adding to any regular playlist (and then some). This was originally requested by Charlie Darwin, so props you you bruv for reminding that it actually exists. Grab & Enjoy.

You Must Learn UK